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Hammerfest VII – Metal Marauders

Hafen Y Mor, Pwllheli, North Wales

On the road again! This was my second year attending Hammerfest and the 3.5 hour trip to our cosy caravan by the sea had begun on Thursday Lunchtime.

The festival has seen some changes from it previous formats and has now involved HRH. Hammerfest used to be spread across to stages in the main concert hall and the Boardwalk but instead this year was moved to the pub down in the Caravan Park leaving the HRH part of the festival to take on the main stage and HRH Stoner, Sleaze and Doom to take over the Boardwalk.

We pulled into Hafen Y Mor campsite just after teatime eager to get checked in. Hammerfest is no normal metal festival. The festival takes places on a Haven Holiday site with the stages that normally stage men in tiger suits and over excited children’s entertainers, instead hosting the very best underground metal bands!

The Boardwalk

Each party gets a static Caravan, Apartment or Cabin to share with their rocking pals and it is all very civilized with a nice Bedroom, shower toilet and Kitchen don’t even get me started on the Living room, Fire, TV and DVD player! HEAVEN!

We arrived just in time to head back to The Mash and Barrel pub that hosted the Hammerfest stage, to see RSJ.

RSJ

RSJ are a band from York with a groovy metal sound. The band brought energy to the traveling metalheads, with fast beats, powerful vocals and a energetic performance.

RSJ

RSJ

Appearing animated on stage, their punchy brand of dissonant riffs, grimy riffs and vocal diversity was an alarming way to open.

RSJ

After a few beers and pizza from the on site Papa John’s the next band up was Blitzkrieg.

Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg are initially from Leicester formed in 1980. The current line-up is Brian Ross (vocals), Ken Johnson (guitar), Alan Ross (guitar) and Bill Baxter (bass) . Mick Kerrigan (drums) has recently parted ways with the band and they are due to make an announcement soon regarding his replacement.

Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg

Ross is the only remaining member from the band’s founding. The old school performance included many songs from the 1980s and also their namesake tune famously covered by Metallica.

Blitzkrieg

Melodic NWOBHM vocals and crunchy proto-thrash riffing led to beers raised in approval by the old school brigade.

Blitzkrieg

Next up this weekend for me was Winterfylleth.

Winterfylleth

Winterfylleth

Following some technical difficulties the band opened their set with a wailing violin present throughout their set creating plenty of atmosphere along with the dark green stage lighting and the black metal riffs of the Manchester band.

Winterfylleth

New guitarist Dan Capp fitted in well with the aesthetic created by the plain black t-shirts and swirling heritage sounds of England.

Winterfylleth

Elvenking livened things up with their folky power metal, complete with violin and face paints! The band’s mixture of genre kept a varied set which was well received.

Elvenking

Elvenking

Elvenking

Their unique makeup added some interesting variation compared to what had been seen earlier that day, and the Italians certainly impressed and won over some new fans

Elvenking

A chilly stroll from the pub, up through and past the sites lakes, complete with pedal boats shaped like swans and zip wire.

Over to the Boardwalk where the Doom night was in full swing. The Boardwalk also held the “metal market” an array of stalls including New rock and retailers of Patches and Merchandise, Kreepsville and banned, handmade and silver jewellery.

Diesel King played the doom stage.

Diesel King

Diesel King

With a blend of dirty sludge and down tempo heavy metal, the band played tracks from Concrete Burial and acid-tarpit.

Diesel King

It is great festival music, with their heavy, crushing beats and cutting guitars that could have well sliced some ear drums in half!

Diesel King

After a rainy few days the weather cleared nicely for a Sunny start to Saturday. After sampling the delights of VIP Caravaning and a sausage sandwich made my way upto the Main stage HRH to catch some White Widdow

White Widdow

Next on the HRH stage was Reach.

Reach

Reach are a hard rock band from Sweden seemingly with all kind of influences, particularly Europe! But the roots are mostly 70-80s hard rock.

Reach

The band seem quite fresh faced but the foundations are good if a classic hard rock sound is your thing.

Reach

Gleeming pop melodies may not have struck a chord with the more extreme attendees, but meant that the songs stuck in the minds of all newbies to the band

Reach

Sedulus are from London.

Sedulus

They have their own mix of stoner rock/ psychedelic space rock and progressive rock and metal and were well suited to the Stoner stage in the boardwalk.

Sedulus

Hypnotic guitars were molded together by free, jazzy drumming before being layered by a unique, atmospheric vocal style.

Sedulus

The song “Pilgrim” was especially memorable for it’s grungy sound.

Sedulus

Sigirya are a Stoner metal band from Swansea. The songs are mostly about time, space and earth.

Sigirya

Sigirya

Sigirya

A walk back across to the Mash and Barrel to watch Skalmold.

Skalmold

Skalmold

Skalmold are a viking folk metal band. A catchy and energetic set went down really well with the audience and must of won the band many new followers who soon caught onto the lyrical content and joined in with the traditional folk like see shanties.

Skalmold

Amongst the pipes and typical folk elements, the guitars added a more doomy, dissonant flavour, with various vocal styles showing a range of influences from the orthodox to the extreme.

Skalmold

Lead melodies broke up any cliches and chugging riffs suggested some power metal tones in the mix aswell.

Skalmold

After a short break, and a Burger King, yes the site even has Burger King, I dropped back into the Stoner stage to watch Hang the Bastard

Hang the Bastard

The West London metallers combined the best of fuzzy riffing and wicked themes whilst still showing a forward thinking approach.

Hang the Bastard

Their next show is at London’s Desertfest so if this sounds like your bag, catch them there!

A quick jog back over to the Hammerfest stage to catch me some Raging Speedhorn

Raging Speedhorn

Originating back to 1998, the Corby sludgercorers are now the most popular they’ve been in a long time.

Raging Speedhorn

Kicking off with “Knives and Faces”, grabbing the audience who were soon well into the set and enjoying Dungeon Whippet, a hardcore metal band, formerly riding the new metal wave of the early noughties and are well worth checking out again.

Raging Speedhorn

Orange Goblin followed their pals onto the stage to carry on the audiences good vibes.

Orange Goblin

Orange Goblin

Orange Goblin

Their doomy stoner metal went down amazingly as usual and even now on their 8th studio album, the band continue to go out there and make the stage their own with humbling thanks and excitement.

Orange Goblin

Joe Hoare’s dexterous riffing provided the basis for some soaring, festival perfect vocals to soar over. Bluesy solos also broke up the more moody sections that were awash with choral guitar work and some fluent drumming

Orange Goblin

With all the excitement, someone somewhere got something wrong and we were left without water! So after nipping back to the “house” to use that wonderful en suite I ventured back out for the closing

A smoke filled stage started the evening with the usual theatrics for Hell.

Hell

The occult metal bellowed through as David joined the stage, whip in hand, covered in blood and with a crown of thorns.

Hell

Epic keyboards and guitars, supported by prowling beats and chromatic riffing won over fans in the ritual like atmosphere created by the elaborate as usual stage props and eccentric front man.

Hell

Despite having a few years on some of the other bands playing, they showed more than ample energy!

Hell

It wasn’t long before he was up on the crowd barriers casting out the sins of audience members. The band took to the stage to thank everyone for turning out, making the joke of it being a Haven site…. and they are Hell… It’s Haven and Hell!

Hell

Hell

Hell

Hell

The theatrics continued with explosions, billowing smoke and lights.

Hell

Hell

All in all the weekend was a lot different to the usual Hammerfest set up, but the metal acts still made it a really enjoyable weekend and of course the happy little metal community enjoying their spring holiday on the beach.

Eluveitie, Arkona and Skálmöld

@ Mandela Hall Belfast

November 14th 2014

Review by Melanie Brehaut

Deep in the autumnal gloom (read: rain) in the heart of Belfast, the last thing one would expect was a gig featuring not one, but THREE languages other than English. Right? Well, that was exactly what punters got when they ventured out on a rather meh Friday night in November.Read the rest of this entry »

Finntroll,

With Týr and Skálmöld

Relentless Garage, London

5th October 2013

As the nights draw in the Heidenfest festival tour makes it’s way around Europe, once again missing out the UK. The arrival on UK soil of an exceptional line-up in support of Finntroll’s ‘Blodsvept Over Europe’ tour, goes a long way towards placating those folk metal fans unable to get across the water. Finntroll are back in London just 4 months after selling out Camden’s Underworld on a Monday night. This time they are accompanied by fellow Nordic acts Týr (from the far flung Faroe Islands) and Skálmöld (from Iceland).

Fintroll

Iceland has a population roughly equal to that of Leicester, but has a reputation for generating a diverse and talented range of musical artists. Skálmöld are no exception and are Iceland’s biggest metal act.

Skálmöld

Singing in their native language, their kooky heavy metal viking folk has filled over half the venue already. Their set closes with ‘Kvaðning’ a lengthy and memorable prog-out which is distinctive in a scene awash with folk metal clone bands. A stunning start to the evening.

Skálmöld

Týr originate from the remote Faroe Islands and tonight are promoting new album ‘Valkyrja’. They open with a near perfect rendition of biggest hit ‘ Hold the Heathen Hammer High’ which is accompanied by a fan holding an inflatable hammer aloft!

Týr

Týr

Despite the humour in the pit, on stage it all seems rather serious with front-man Henri never cracking a smile despite a lot of light-hearted banter between songs.

Týr

The set includes 3 new songs: ‘Blood of Heroes’, ‘Mare of My Night’ and ‘Blood of Heroes’. Týr play immaculately, almost clinically and it left me feeling slightly cold.

Týr

Tyr

The crowd were pretty much static too but that could be in part due to the technical natures of the music.

Týr

Týr

At the conclusion of the galloping ‘Shadow of the Swastika’ the band vacate the stage but the light-show hints at a possible encore, which is called for but hopes are dashed when a tech starts dismantling the drum kit.

Týr

Týr

A shame many fans had come out to see them tonight.

Týr

Finntroll take the stage with Vreth (Mathias Lillmåns) looking a little more disheveled than the polished image they started this tour with. The Garage is stiflingly hot once again but the Finns do love their saunas, so should be right at home, but even they comment on the heat.

Fintroll

The band launch into the title track of their latest album ‘Blodsvept’, causing the most infatuated fans to rush towards the front where they commence gesticulating and head-bang over-enthusiastically.

Fintroll

This time round I stayed well away from the most animated areas of the crowd, having been knocked off my feet and injured at the previous London Finntroll gig. Violent crowd behaviour is a common feature of folk metal gigs, seemingly from the fact that some fans don’t get out much and do not know how to behave properly at gigs.

Fintroll

Fintroll

The band seem to enjoy the response they elicit and take obvious pleasure in the control they have over the crowd and encourage large pits. It’s OK for them on stage behind the barriers!

Fintroll

Fintroll

The Trolls characteristically storm through their 90 minute set, the 7 newer songs going down better than in May. The show seems slicker than at the start of the tour and the band themselves more confident. However the downside of them having now played this new show many times is that it feels less raw and spontaneous.

Fintroll

Fintroll

Since the release of ‘Blodsvept’ Finntroll’s stage show has increased in resemblance to a cabaret stage show; developing to match their crafted steampunk-rockabilly-twenties image. Which features those ears, which of course have to be mentioned.

Fintroll

In theory they are at risk of the same kind of ridicule Mortiis faced during his prosthetic phase, but the Trolls pull it off, something which is helped by the make-up being so well done. Overall the feel from the set is that it is more practiced, less spontaneous but still fantastic.

Fintroll

Fintroll

At the conclusion of the joik-tastic ‘Jaktens Tid’ the band disappear but there is a lackluster call for their return.

Fintroll

It’s not as if the packed venue has not enjoyed the spectacle, so it it a little odd. Despite this they come back on and conclude with classics ‘Nattfödd’ and of course ‘Trollhammaren’

Fintroll

Great to see such a great international folk metal line-up in London and the UK as a whole. Rock the Nation take note – we want Heidenfest back!